Their water-colored affair

They have their respective jobs that keep them busy, but when an opportunity comes for them to make beautiful music together, French-Spanish singer-songwriter Miguel Juteau and his Filipino wife Evelyn welcome it. It was music that brought them together, so it is only understandable that they will continue their common passion.

In 1999, Miguel and Evelyn formed Aquarela, which means watercolor in Portuguese. The group readily defined itself as the most genuine representative of Latin and Brazilian music in the local entertainment scene.

Aquarela prides itself in being authentic when it comes to samba and bossa nova music. Miguel composes and arranges songs for the band, while Evelyn acts as band manager and record producer, as well as frontliner.

Two years ago, Aquarela came out with their debut album, Bossa Nova Affair, a collection of bossa nova and samba tunes distributed by Universal Records. The CD is an expression of Miguel and Evelyn’s love for Brazilian music which conveys a soulful and romantic mood to listeners.

Admittedly, the couple was inspired by their first musical outing that’s why they worked on another album, which took more than six months to make. Recently, Miguel and Evelyn came out with Changes, Aquarela’s second album.

“We’ve made a few, better changes in our life, that’s why we wanted that title for our second album” Miguel grants. “Our music is a reflection of our life. It took us quite a while to complete the album because it was so difficult to gather the musicians together. We had several individual schedules to consider, including ours.”

As the title indicates, the band’s music took an audacious turn in this second release. While Brazilian influences are still clearly recognizable on all tracks, this time, the song lineup comprises mostly original compositions from Miguel and Evelyn.

“Changes is a bit jazzy,” informs Miguel. “Our first album contains mostly bossa nova tracks and covers. The second one is composed of nine originals and three covers.”

Miguel brings to the recording his impressive musical artistry that started in Northern France, first into pop then Flamenco, Latin and acoustic. After recording a couple of his own compositions in his early twenties, he moved to Granada, Spain to study Flamenco guitar. He later fell in love with Brazilian music, a passion he has nurtured ever since.

Evelyn, for her part, is a seasoned entertainer from Cebu. She worked with many leading jazz bands and eventually performed with Miguel in Barcelona and Paris.

The three covers in Changes are the bossa nova upbeat ditty Berimbau, The Doors’ ’60s classic Light My Fire, re-arranged as contemporary smooth jazz, and a refreshing acoustic take on the Visayan song Usahay, recorded in the vernacular by Evelyn, who takes pride in her roots.

One of the original tracks is the soft fusion Boracay, which the couple plans to launch in the island early next year. The Tagalog lyrics (Ala-Ala Mo) were written by Mon David, himself a noted performer, while the English lyrics (It Will Always be You) were penned by Evelyn.

“We went to Boracay five years ago and we simply fell in love with the island,” Evelyn shares.

Samedis Nirvana in French, features a thumping groove and catchy sax lines. Sin Amor is a Spanish bolero, with Evelyn singing passionately of an undying love. Unicornio is a bossa/samba recorded in Spanish by Miguel.

Cancion de la Fregona is a Spanish piece driven by hypnotic percussion, flamenco guitar and Andalusian drama. Melisa is an acoustic piece featuring Miguel’s meditations on our fundamental need for love, singing to a simple guitar and sax accompaniment. Saint Malo is a French love song about a town in France of the same name.

Melena Loca is a Spanish samba that was the highlight of the first album. Cita en Soledad is a Spanish song which means “a date with solitude,” expressing sadness with beautiful Latin-flavored arrangements. Corazon Enganchado is a bossa nova flirting with chill-out grooves.

Miguel boasts the album uses real instruments — sax, bass, flute, acoustic guitar — without making use of any synthesizers. Aside from singing, he also exhibits his masterful Brazilian-style guitar playing on the album. Dix Lucero does delightful sax and flute.

Miguel and Evelyn plan to sell the CD on-line, so they can reach out to more people who will appreciate their kind of music.

“Our passion and love for singing prompted us to work on another album,” Evelyn asserts. “This is what we’ve always done since we have met. Singing is like second nature to us. We’d rather sing than play golf or go ballroom dancing. We really love music.”